Oscar Robertson

Connections

Oscar Robertson – “The Big O” – is one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. The 6-foot-5 point guard starred for the University of Cincinnati and was the NCAA’s top-scorer. In 1960, Robertson co-captained the U.S. Olympic basketball team, winning a gold medal. That same year he was picked by the city’s NBA team, the Cincinnati Royals, as a territorial pick.

Robertson was a terrific all-around player for 10 years with the Royals, winning the MVP in 1964, and added a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971. For the 1961-62 season with Cincinnati, Robertson became the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double – double digits in the three categories points, rebounds and assist per game – for an entire season. He holds the record for the most triple-doubles (181). He was enshrined in the NBA’s Hall of Fame in 1980, and was in the inaugural class of the college basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

"A lot of young people don't even know the NBA used to have a team here," said Wilson, as he signed a Cincinnati Royals T-shirt. "But, oh yes, we had a team ..."
Yes, did they ever.
And most Cincinnatians 55 years and older are happy to tell you how good.